


The Rise of Ben Solo

by NatLannister



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Jedi Ben, Jedi Leia Organa, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-12 19:09:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21481369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NatLannister/pseuds/NatLannister
Summary: When Kylo and Hux's relationship is discovered by Palpatine, Kylo will do anything in his power to protect Hux even if that means joining the light side.
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Ben Solo, Armitage Hux/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Armitage Hux/Kylo Ren
Comments: 2
Kudos: 125





	The Rise of Ben Solo

There was something awakening in Kylo. He felt it deep inside and knew it was only a matter of time before it fully awoken. The light inside him was winning against the darkness. He knew what would shut out the light for good, but he wasn’t willing to pay that price. Maybe the light wasn’t as bad as he thought it was.

Kylo turned over in his bed and laid his head on Hux’s chest. The ginger was still asleep, and surprisingly he was a heavy sleeper. The light side would be able to keep him and Hux safe. The First Order was very unpredictable and did not handle relationships of any kind very well. Kylo lost track of the amount of times he killed soldiers and their lovers. He was always taught love made people weaker, but Kylo had never felt stronger.

Quietly, he slipped out of Hux’s bedroom and went to the main bridge. Sleep was a luxury that Kylo couldn’t have. His mind was racing too crazy and the force was calling him. The main bridge was fairly empty with only the night crew there. They stood up immediately when they saw Kylo and saluted him. The knight gave a small nod and the crew went back to their seats.

After grabbing a data pad, he headed to his bedroom. He looked over the information on the data pad for the hundredth time, staring at the coordinates they were heading. They were going to Palpatine and Kylo knew he was a lot stronger than Snoke and would probably figure out him and Hux’s relationship. It scarred him.

His bedroom door shut and Kylo took his regular spot on his floor. He crossed his legs and fell into a deep mediation. Usually the force would not answer his calls, but tonight was different. He heard an answer, but it was not from someone he expected. It was his mother.

“Come home” Leia pleaded “everything will be forgiven.”

“I can’t leave Hux.”

“Bring him then, I can keep you safe. Please Ben come home.”

A chill washed over Kylo and his mother soothing voice disappeared, replaced by the cold and cunning Palpatine.

“You cannot escape your destiny boy. Do not be weak like your grandfather. The love you feel will fuel your anger when you kill him, my young apprentice.”

“I would never hurt him.”

“Anakin said something similar for his Padame.”

Kylo broke his concentration and stood up. It was decided then, he and Hux would leave tonight.

“You can’t run from me boy” was the last thing he heard from Palpatine. He felt an emotion he hadn’t felt in years, fear.

With a tight grip on his lightsaber, Kylo made his way towards Hux’s bedroom. His plan was to keep Hux asleep and get them into an escape pod. He could explain everything when they were safely off the ship and on the way to the rebels.

Hux might kill him, but at least his ginger would be safe. When he arrived at the general’s door, he typed in the key code. The door slid open and an eerie feeling washed over him. The room was too quiet. He ignited his lightsaber and went towards the bed he was in mere minutes ago.

The bedroom was a mess. The sheets were thrown on the floor and dressers were turned over. Clothes littered the ground and glass shards from the broken lamp hid under them. A struggle had happened, but the more important question was where was his Hux.

Kylo tapped into his force and found his ginger being dragged to an awaiting ship. Hux was hurt, but he wouldn’t go down without a fight. The knight ran towards the general.

By the time he reached the docking bridge, the ship was floating in the air. The ship’s entrance was still open and one of the knights of Ren was standing there with his blaster pressed against Hux’s head. “Palpatine sends his regards.”

“Don’t do this” Kylo begged, trying to hide his emotions.

“If you want him, you know where to get him.” The entrance closed and the ship jumped into hyper speed. Kylo fell to his knees and let himself finally feel. The tears fell freely down his face and he felt utterly helpless.

A warmth washed over him, it was his mother again. ”Come to the rebel base Ben, let’s save Hux and kill Palpatine once and for all.”

Kylo didn’t feel the need to respond, he just got in the nearest TIE fighter and flew off the First Order ship. His mother told him the coordinates and he punched them in. That was the last thing he remembered.

The rest of the flight went by in a blur. His mind was stuck on his Hux. Palpatine was shielding Hux from him. No matter how hard he strained himself he couldn’t find his mind. All he wanted to do was comfort his general and let him know he was coming to get him.

This was not supposed to happen. He and Hux were not supposed to develop real feelings for each other. It had all started when Hux saved him when Starkiller base exploded. He saw the general in a different light. He saw a much softer side of him. From there the two men couldn’t fight the sexual tension between them. It was when they both developed feelings that it became complicated.

Obviously they couldn’t let their soldiers know so they kept it a secret. But Hux heard the gossip around the ship of their relationship. They needed to do something to end the rumors. It was Hux’s idea to have Kylo throw him into the control panel during the fight on Crait. The plan worked and the troopers went back to thinking they both hated each other.

Kylo blamed himself for getting them into this situation, he got careless. He should have known Palpatine was watching them, waiting for a moment of weakness.

The TIE Fighter slowed down from hyper speed in front of an unknown planet. It descended into the planet’s atmosphere and went to the coordinates. He saw a landing pad and standing there in the middle of it was Leia. 

The ship landed and Kylo ran into his mother’s arms and released all the years of emotions he had built up. In between sobs he apologized for what he did to Han and Luke, but all Leia did was shush him. “You’re here now and that is all that matters.”

He composed himself somewhat and his mother led him inside the rebel base. “You are no longer Kylo Ren, he is dead. You are my son Ben.”

“Kylo is dead” Ben agreed. It felt so foreign to hear his name.

The rebels all stared coldly at Ben as he walked inside. Even without his force ability he could tell they were not as forgiving as his mother. “This is my son Ben” Leia introduced, looking around at her soldiers. “And no one is going to bring up Kylo Ren, he is dead.”

“Are you expecting us to just forgive him for everything he did?” Poe screamed, stepping out of the crowd. “He is the reason half of our rebel fleet is dead. How do we even know this isn’t a trap?”

“Because he is my son and I can sense the light in him. He is different.”

Poe rolled his eyes. “Who here wants to work with Kylo Ren? You know the sith lord who murdered Han Solo and killed countless of us.”

Ben hung his head low in shame. Leia guided him to his room and told him to get some rest. She was about to have a few choice words with her pilot Poe. Ben collapsed on his bed from pure exhaustion. He heard his mother ask Rey to watch over his room and then he drifted to sleep.

Ben was by a large chair. There was someone sitting on it in the shadows. “I wanted you to see what happens when you go against me.” The screams were what he heard next. On the floor in front of him was Hux.

The figure in the chair stood up revealing that it was Palpatine. He brought his hand forward and used the force to lift Hux off the ground. There was a loud pop and Hux writhed in pain. His arm hung limply from his body. Another pop and crack and Hux’s other arm was broken. “Scream for Kylo. Tell him to come save you.”

“Never” Hux spat, sending a mouthful of blood and spit into Palpatine’s face.

Ben heard a scream of agony escape Hux’s mouth as his leg was bent backwards. Palpatine looked directly at him. “This will happen to Hux until you get here. I won’t kill him but he will be begging for death soon.” The bone broke through Hux’s skin. “Better hurry” the sith lord mocked.

Ben sat up in his bed and released a blood curdling scream. His bedroom door flew open and Rey came charging. Her blue lightsaber shed light in the almost pitch black room. “Are you alright?” she asked, slightly out of breath. “Did someone attack you?”

“I’m fine physically” Ben answered, getting out of bed. He grabbed his saber and marched out of his room.

“Where are you going?” Rey questioned following the distraught jedi.

“I’m going to fight Palpatine and will probably die trying.”

“Why?”

“Because he is torturing Hux and I felt everything. I need to get to him.”

“Can’t you wait till the morning when we can form a plan and get reinforcements?”

“No, these rebels will never accept me nor forgive what I have done. I wouldn’t either.”

Rey stared at him with her big brown innocent eyes. “I’m going with you then. You can’t face him on your own.”

“There is a good chance neither of us will be coming back.”

Rey shrugged, but Ben could sense she was scared. Ben wanted to leave her behind, but he knew he needed all the help he could get.

The two walked to the same ship Ben flew there with. Finn came running from the base, “You can’t go without me.”

“Or me” Rose replied followed by Chewbacca and Poe.

Ben sighed. “You guys will just get in the way.”

Poe stepped forward, frowning “I may not like you, but I won’t let you face the most evil person in the galaxy alone. If we want to defeat him, we all need to work together.”

Leia emerged from the base next. “Do rebels not sleep?” Ben asked, earning a small chuckle from Rey. 

“Well your loud scream certainly does not help with sleeping” his mother responded, pulling Ben into another hug. “I could sense your pain” she whispered to him and Ben melted into her embrace. She broke away and told that the whole rebel base was getting ready to attack. “We are attacking in the dead of night, we will have the element of surprise.”

Ben was honestly surprised with how sufficient the rebels were. Leia gave them five minutes to get ready and they actually did it in the short span of time. Not even the clone troopers were that efficient.

The plan was Rey and Ben would land on Palpatine’s ship with Rey remaining hidden. Ben would go to his old master and distract him while a small group of rebels sneak onto the ship and together they would all take on Palpatine. Poe would lead another group of rebels in fighter ships to destroy the First Order ship from the outside and fight any TIE Fighters.

Leia was riding with Chewbacca and Finn in the millennium Falcon. The jedi was glad he wasn’t on that ship, it reminded him too much of his father. 

The plan went into action and the rebel base went quiet as all the ships went into light speed towards Palpatine.

Ben mustered all his strength and hid Rey’s force. He had to concentrate so there wasn’t much talking at first. Rey broke the silence by asking about the knights of Ren. “I trained them all. They are not force users, but know how to take one on. They each have their own weapon and skill” Ben told the girl, knowing he would soon be facing his students.

“Who has which weapon?”

Ben sat back and told Rey of what to expect. Kina was the sniper and usually she hid in high places ready to shoot. Her deadly marksmanship earned her the highest kill count for the team. Jula was a trained assassin whose main skill was close hand to hand combat. She loved to get close to enemies and kill them with her bare hands. Arwen had the bow staff, a weapon very similar to what Rey used to have. He knew how to sneak up on his prey and take them out before they even knew what hit them.

Marris was the tank of the team. He had the largest blaster that could shoot limbs straight off the body. He loved danger and would usually be the first to charge towards the fight. Laze preferred to not be as flashy as Marris. He carried two small blasters. They may not look deadly, but Laze had never missed a lethal shot. The final and scariest for Ben was Breha. Her weapon of choice was vibro-voulges, the same weapon used against Ben and Rey when they fought the Red Clone Troopers. She was the smartest of the knights and the second in command. Her nasty temper was her only downfall. 

Rey fell silent after Ben finished explaining the knights of Ren. Both of them knew they had a big fight ahead of them. When the giant ship came into view, Ben felt dread build up inside him. If anything with the plan went wrong, the rebels would lose and the First Order would be victorious.

It seemed as though Palpatine was expecting him because the shields were down and there was a small opening in the giant spacecraft. “Here we go” Ben whispered, landing the TIE Fighter. He grabbed his lightsaber and exited his ship. 

The knights of Ren were waiting for him. “Good to see you master” Breha mocked, turning her vibro-vougle toward Ben almost as if she was challenging him to fight. “I knew you were weak enough to come after Hux was taken.”

“Shut up” Ben growled, taking a threatening step forward. He earned a punch from Marris, knocking him back into place.

“Drop your weapon” Breha commanded, a smirk spread across her face when a red dot appeared on the center of Ben’s chest. 

The jedi did as he was told and let the lightsaber fall to the ground. His knights checked him for anymore weapons, but he was clean. Breha had Marris and Kina stay behind incase Ben had any surprises. 

With his hands cuffed behind his back, Ben was lead to the throne room, the same one from his dream. Palpatine was sitting in the chair as before, but there was no Hux. Ben was shoved onto his knees and pushed in front of the emperor. 

“You disappoint me, child” he hissed, staring directly at Ben. The jedi knew he was trying to probe into his mind. He did his best to shield off his thoughts, just long enough for the plan to go into action. “Your attempt to keep me from your head is futile. You are not as strong as you think.”

Ben wanted to argue, show some sort of resistance, but his mind was on his ginger. “Where is Hux?” he asked, looking around the throne room for him. 

“Just like your grandfather” he yelled, standing up from his chair. “I killed him when I saw you were on your way here.”

Anger and grief washed over Ben as he released all his pent up emotions. Fueled by rage, he broke free from his restraints and called his lightsaber forward. “I’ll kill you” he seethed, running towards the emperor. 

He barely made it a step when a blast of lightning hit him in the chest. He was pushed back several feet and had the wind knocked out of him. The smell of his burning flesh nearly made him puke. He stood up with shaky legs and got ready to charge again, but he was interrupted by a loud scream. 

Marris came running into the throne room clutching his arm that was dangling from his body. “The rebels are on the ship. They are…” his sentence was cut off when a blue lightsaber went straight through his chest. His dead body toppled to the ground showing Rey standing directly behind him.

She ran next to Ben and they went back to back. The emperor went back in his seat, deciding to watch the fight. The knights of Ren wanted blood and Palpatine had no intention of stopping their revenge. “Let’s see how good of a teacher you are” the sith lord mocked, signaling for the fight to begin.

Arwen was on Rey in a moment, smacking her hand holding the saber. The next swing hit her left cheek, causing blood to drip down her face. Ben turned to assist Rey when he heard Laze fire two shots. The jedi raised his arm out stopping the blasts with the force. He flung them back towards Laze, but he managed to dodge. 

Ben went to finish off Laze when Jula attacked. She docked when Ben swiped his saber at her. She kicked the back of his legs and sent him to the ground. As he stood up Jula jumped onto his back and wrapped her legs around his neck and began to squeeze. 

With the lack of oxygen he collapsed, trying to free himself from her grasp. She squeezed even tighter and Ben was sure his head was going to explode. He was surprised when her grip loosened and even more shocked when she fell over dead. There was a hole in her head from a blaster. 

He sat up and took a deep breath and the black specs in his eyes began to disappear. Finn was standing over him with his hand outstretched. “Looked like you needed a hand.”

Ben took Finn’s hand and stood up. He thanked him for his help and tried to clear his head. These were his students, he knew their weaknesses and their exact fighting style. He grabbed his lightsaber and went straight towards Breha. “You think you can take me on” she mocked, lowering her weapon.

“You aren’t as good as you think” Ben responded back, and he could tell he pissed her off. Her temper might make her a stronger fighter, but it left her open to attacks. She slashed wildly at Ben’s chest and he couldn’t help but laugh. “I thought I trained you better than this.”

She slashed again this time cutting the jedi’s arm. “Were you aiming for my arm?”

“I know you are trying to get me mad” Breha breathed out, anger radiating off of her. 

“Well it seems to be working?” Ben barely had time to finish his sentence when she attacked again. Her attacks were sloppy but had a powerful kick behind them. The next stab she took, Ben was ready. When she stepped forward, he moved to the side and brought his lightsaber down on her arm. It fell to the ground, leaving a burnt stump.

A yell of agony escape her lips, but she quickly silenced when Ben struck her again. This time he stabbed her through the heart. He glanced over at Rey to see if she needed help and saw her still sparring with Arwen. 

Arwen was at a disadvantage, he no longer had the element of surprise. Rey managed to break his staff in half and swiftly stabbed at his chest. He fell to the ground dead.

Only two knights were left and then the real fight would happen. Finn seemed to be holding off Laze, but clearly needed some help. Laze had Finn against a corner, shooting at Finn whenever he moved. Using the force, Ben began to choke Laze. The knight dropped his guns and grabbed at his neck, though he was helpless against the attack. While Laze was incapacitated Finn fired a shot straight through his head. 

The only knight left was Kina and finding her would be the hardest. She never liked fighting up close. He heard the blaster fire before he saw it. The blast flew past him and hit Finn in the back. 

Finn went down without a peep, but was caught by Rey. Ben was watching now, looking for any movement above them. He heard another blast from behind him. He quickly turned and saw it heading straight for Rey. He stopped the bolt mere inches from her face. 

Now Ben knew the sniper was moving around. She was making it impossible to find her. “Rey I need you. We need to locate her position.”

“But I have to help Finn.”

Ben risked a glance down and was surprised to see Finn’s injury start to close up. That was when he noticed the cut on Rey’s cheek was gone. “You can heal?” he asked, looking away from the girl.

“The dark side have their lightening attack and the light has healing.” 

There was a commotion above them and then a body flew to the ground. Kina landed on her head with a sickening crunch. From the balcony, Ben saw Chewy wave at them. This plan might actually work. 

Rey finished healing Finn and then set her sights on Ben’s burnt chest. He shooed the girl away. They could worry about injuries later, now it was time to face the emperor. 

They lined up and Ben felt all the darkness inside him disappear, he was filled with the light. Rey and Ben ignited their lightsabers while Finn and Chewie had their blasters ready to fire. 

The throne doors were thrown open and Leia came with her blue lightsaber in hand, behind her was the last person Ben expected to see. It was Hux. He looked exactly how Ben remembered him.

The ginger walked over to Ben and took his place next to him, He picked up both discarded blasters from Laze. “I thought you were dead” Ben confessed to Hux, his lip beginning to wobble.

“We can talk about this later” Hux hissed, keeping his stoic face as usual. Ben knew his love had a million questions, but he seemed to be going with the flow. Hux obviously wanted a piece of the emperor. 

If Palpatine was worried he didn’t show it. The ship began to shake violently, meaning the plan of having Poe and Rose attack from the outside was working. “You are like bugs waiting to be squashed. You think any of can actually defeat me.”

Ben was waiting for the emperor to make the first move, Hux though had other plans. Hux lifted up both blasters and fired. It was quick and precise. The emperor swatted them away with ease and sent Hux flying to the other side of the room. 

Rey, Leia, and Ben sprung forward with their sabers up and ready. Palpatine aimed his lightning at Leia which she easily blocked with her saber. He upped the power in his bolts and the woman couldn’t hold on anymore. She was sent backwards right into Chewie’s waiting arms.

Ben and Rey were at the emperor’s side in a matter of seconds. Rey went right for his chest while Ben went for his legs. The Sith Lord used the force to keep Rey in place and ignited his own red saber. He blocked Ben’s attack, striking him with his lightning. It hit right in the same spot as before.

Rey was lifted further in the air as he began to choke the girl. Finn took the chance to take aim at Palpatine. He fired and managed to hit him in his arm. Rey fell to the ground and coughed, trying to catch her breath. Ben was up again, ignoring the burning pain in his chest. 

Running forward, Ben dodge the lightning. He was ready this time. Their sabers clashed against each other. Ben managed to block all of the emperor’s strike while the sith lord did the same for his attacks. 

While Palpatine was distracted, Hux crawled forward and fired another around with his blasters. This time the sith lord couldn’t stop them. The first blast hit the sith lord in the stomach while the other hit his shoulder. With a smirk raised his weapon again. 

“Enough” the emperor screamed, lifting up his hand. Before Ben had any time to react he and the rest of his group was lifted off the ground by the force. While the others remained in the air, Ben was forced onto the ground on his knees. ‘Playtime is over. We are going to squash the light out of you here and now. Now take your lightsaber and strike through each of them.”

Ben shook his head no in defiance. “I won’t harm any of them.”

“What a shame” the sith lord mocked. “Now who should I kill first Hux or your mother.”

“No” Ben pleaded. “Kill me instead.”

“Pick who will die or I shall kill them both.”

Ben looked to his mother and saw no fear in her eyes. She was calm almost as if telling Ben to pick her. But he couldn’t lose his mom, not after everything. 

Hux on the other hand was pissed. His fiery anger pulsed through him and Ben was sure even the emperor could feel it. He wouldn’t choose his love to die, not after traveling all this way to save him. 

“I can feel the conflict in you. I guess I’ll decide for you.” The lightsaber flicked on and Ben watched in horror as the sith lord made his way towards Hux. “I thought you were already dead so it’s only fair that I finish the job.”

Something inside Ben awoken. The light side had finally won over the dark. With his newfound power and energy, he pushed through the emperor’s hold of him and used his own force to throw him across the room.

The group fell to the ground, but quickly regained themselves. “Let’s finish this” Ben commanded, looking at Rey and Leia. 

The jedis ran towards the sith lord while Finn and Chewie ran to grab their guns. Hux had another plan in mind though. 

Ben struck the sith lord from the front while Rey and Leia each took a different side. Palpatine managed to hold off a majority of their attacks, but he couldn’t block everything. Rey managed to nick him in his side.

Out of the three jedis, Leia was the least skilled. She had not practiced libersaber training in years. Palpatine easily overpowered her and stabbed her threw the shoulder nearly cutting off her whole arm. 

She was dragged away by Chewie and Finn, who were trying their best to care for the injured woman. Ben blinked back his worry and tears and kept his mind focused on the enemy. 

Rey was the next to fall. Unlike Ben, she let her emotions get the better of her. She allowed herself to glance away from the battle to check on Leia. That was all Palpatine needed. He swatted his hand and sent her smashing into the wall, knocking her unconscious and maybe even breaking some bones. Finn was on Rey in an instant, standing over her protectively.

Now it was just Ben and his old master. The sith lord blasted lightning at him, and Ben docked out of the way. He lost his footing and fell backwards onto the floor. Quickly he rolled out of the way and where his head once was just rested was a red lightsaber. “To easy” Palpataine laughed, bringing down his weapon through Ben’s leg. 

As the emperor went to strike again, he failed to notice Hux standing directly in front of him with a crazed look on his face. Hux had discarded Laze’s guns and decided to upgrade to Marris’s blaster. 

Palpatine raised his lightsaber directly above Ben’s chest. The weapon never made it to the intended target. Hux fired the blaster, unprepared for the recoil that sent him back several feet. 

The blast hit Palpatine in his hand, causing his lightsaber hand to explode. The sith lord writhed in pain, holding the pieces of his arm together. Hux got ready to fire again, this time aiming for his chest. With his unhurt arm he shot Hux with his lightning. 

Ben used that opportunity to stand up and stab his old master through the heart. He was dead before he even hit the ground. Ben fell back down in exhaustion and pain from his leg. He didn’t even know Hux was hurt until he heard Finn yell his name. 

He crawled over to his lover, who was slumped against the wall next to Rey. Finn was standing over both of them, attempting to stop the bleeding from Rey’s head. “We need to get out of here and get them to the medical wing” Finn suggested, and Ben could tell he was scarred. 

Leia was losing a lot of blood and her arm was only hanging on by a thread. Rey was getting paler by the minute as blood poured from her head wound. The person Ben was the most worried about was his Hux. The general’s chest was burnt badly and his breathing was shallow and becoming less frequent.

None of them would make it to the shuttle alive. His eyes filled with tears, as he watched the people he cared most for in the world slipped away. 

A calmness washed over him and standing in front of him was Luke. “I’m proud of you” Luke said with a smile. “I always knew you would come back to the light.”

“I can’t save them. I failed” Ben cried, looking at his uncle for guidance. 

“But you can” Luke stated, kneeling down next to his nephew. “Your mother was the one who discovered that you can heal. Just hover your hands over the wounds and let the force do the rest.”

Ben went to thank Luke, but he was gone. He took his uncle’s advice and healed his mother first. He watched in awe as the wound on her arm slowly closed up. He went to Rey next to fix the cut on her head. When it closed up, he turned to Hux. He was tired and ready to pass out from all the energy he was using, but needed to save his love. 

With his last ounce of energy, he used the force to heal Hux’s chest. He never got to see if it worked though. Ben passed out from a mix of over exerting himself and the injuries he sustained during the fight. 

The first time he woke up was on the Millennium Falcon with Rose and Chewie, rubbing a cooling ointment over his burned chest. “Hux” Ben croaked out, his eyes desperately searching for him.

“He’s fine” Rose soothed. “Go back to sleep, you’ll see him soon.” He closed his eyes and drifted back off into a dreamless sleep.

The next time he woke up, he was back on the rebel base. His burns were gone and so was his leg injury. Ben looked around the room and saw his mom laying in a medical bed next to him staring right at him. 

“Look who is finally awake” she teased, staring proudly at her boy. “Your father would have been proud.”

“Thanks mom.”

“Who taught you how to heal?”

“Luke. He came to me and showed me how to save everyone.”

“He always liked to make a dramatic entrance” Leia said with a sad smile, leaning back onto her bed. 

Ben saw on the other side of him was a bed with a sleeping Rey in it. Finn was sleeping in the chair beside her. “Where is Hux?’

“With Poe” his mother answered. “Hux is leading the rebels to where the rest of the First Order is hidden. Hux thinks by showing them Palpatine’s head, the First Order will surrender.”

“I should be there with him.”

“Don’t worry Poe will keep him safe.” Leia reached her hand over and gave Ben’s arm a squeeze. “I like your boyfriend, he’s got quite a bit of spunk in him. When I found him on Palpatine’s ship he wouldn’t even let me heal him. Here he was dying on the floor from a lightsaber wound on his chest, and he said he was fine.”

Ben couldn’t help but laugh. That was his Hux alright. The general had too much pride. “How did you manage to heal him, then?”

“Well the second I said you were there, he demanded that I heal him at once so he could get to you.”

Ben’s laughter turned into sobs in a matter of seconds. The weight of the war being over and all the evil he had done hit him like a tidal wave. He sobbed uncontrollably, apologizing profusely to his mother in between his cries. The pain he made his mother suffer through must have been unimaginable. He killed his dad and uncle in cold blood. He felt a warm pair of arms around him and Leia pulled him into a hug. She was crying too. 

“You’re my son, Ben and I love you. People make mistakes throughout their life, it’s how they fix their mistakes that defines them as a person. Do you really think your father was a saint?”

“He didn’t destroy a whole solar system.”

“Well you didn’t either. That was Kylo and you aren’t him. You are my son who finally came home.”

Ben leaned into his mom’s embrace. They stayed like that for a while, each crying for those they lost and past mistakes. 

It was the sound of celebration that snapped them back into reality. The First Order had surrendered. Without the emperor, snoke, or Kylo Ren there was no one left to run it. The rebels were getting ready to send their fleets to the First Order to help with the surrendering. 

Leia sat up from her bed. “The rebels will need their general” she said to Ben. “I need to be there to see who shall be arrested as war criminals or let go.”

“War criminals?” Ben asked, jumping out of bed. “Hux and I are the biggest war criminals out there.”

“I will not allow my son to be arrested. You hid your face under a mask for years. The galaxy will only know you as my son that returned home to me.”

“What about Hux?”

“He has already accepted his fate. He went to the First Order in handcuffs and will be taken away as a prisoner just like the other commanders.”

“No mom, I won’t accept that. You are the general, so you can pardon him.”

Leia sat at the edge of her son’s bed. “I would forgive him, but the galaxy cannot. All he is known for was destroying a whole solar system. The galaxy wants him to pay.”

“Then arrest me too, because wherever he goes, I go.”

Leia stood up from the bed with a sigh. “I’ll see what I can do.” And with that she left the room, shutting the door as she went.

Hours went by before Ben finally heard some news. By that time Rey was awake and Ben caught her up to date on what his mother had told him. She sympathized with Ben, but also understood the predicament Leia was in. 

Finn was the one who came in to give Ben the news of Leia’s plans. “Hux has been ordered to die.”

“What!” Ben screamed, feeling like everything in the past 24 hours had been a waste. The beds in the room began to rise as Ben let his emotions control his force.

“But Leia has a plan” Finn continued. The beds fell to the ground. “He isn’t really going to die, Leia just wants the galaxy to think so.”

“So Leia is going to fake his death” Rey laughed “reminds me of a story my parents used to tell me when I was little.”

Just as Ben was about to ask Finn when this all was going to happen the hologram in the medical room turned on. It was broadcast across the whole universe.

On the hologram was his mother and behind her Poe, Chewie and Rose. “Today marks the end of the war” Leia said with a proud smile. “The First Order has surrendered and Emperor Palpatine is dead.” When she said that Poe held up the slain sith lord’s head. 

“We have lost many and ending the war will not bring them back, but they can have justice.” Hux and other First Order commanders were pushed onto their knees in front of Leia. “These men right here played a huge part in the war and will answer for their crimes.” Leia proceed to name each of them and say what each did. “And lastly we have General Hux who not only built Starkiller base, but used the weapon to destroy the New Republic Capital.”

“For your crimes against the galaxy you all shall pay for it with your lives.” Leia signaled her rebels to come forward, each holding a needle in their hand. “Any last words?” she asked. The First Order commanders stayed silent, they accepted their fate. “Then I, Leia Skywalker, leader of the rebels, sentence you to death.”

Ben barely had time to react when Poe stepped forward and stuck a needle into Hux’s neck. Hux’s eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed limp on the ground. His chest had stopped moving and it seemed like he was dead. A rebel medical examiner checked the pulse of each of the war criminals and then stated they were all deceased. 

Leia stepped back into the front and said “the war may be over, but we can’t declare victory until we clean up the First Order’s mess.” Her speech went on, but Ben wasn’t listening anymore. He was staring at Hux, looking for any sign of life. 

The hologram flicked off and Ben had no idea he was crying until he felt a tear drop run down his face. “Hux will be fine” Finn reassured. “Leia and Poe wouldn’t lie.”

Silently Ben left the room, leaving behind Rey and Finn. He sat outside the base waiting for his mother’s ship to land. He needed to see Hux alive and well with his own two eyes. 

He didn’t wait long for the rebels to return. When his mother’s ship landed he was up on his feet, waiting by the doors. 

Leia emerged from the ship and gently grabbed Ben’s hand, dragging him to the millennium falcon. “Take the ship and go. You and Hux can’t stay here. Find some planet far away and start your life.”

“I can’t take this ship, it was dads.”

“He would want you to have it.”

“Can I ever see you again?” Ben asked, his lip quivering.

“Of course, just not for a while. Things need to blow over, but I swear we will see each other soon.”

The two embraced and Ben didn’t want to let go. He had just gotten his mom back, and now he was leaving her again. 

The millennium falcon’s doors opened up revealing Poe. “He’s onboard the ship, he’ll be out for at least a couple more hours.”

“But he will be fine?”

“He may look dead, but Hux is very much alive” Poe promised.

“Thank you” Ben said, beginning his walk onto his new ship.

Leia called out “make sure to dye Hux’s hair, you don’t want him to be recognized.” 

“I will” he laughed, waving to his mom as the doors closed behind. They would see each other soon.

The ship was just as he remembered it. It had traces of his father all over it. He found Hux on the little bed in the commons area, he looked dead but Ben could sense his life force. Ben gave him a kiss on the forehead and headed into the cockpit. With no real destination, Ben just picked a direction and flew. 

When Hux wakes up they could decide which planet to land on. 

It was quiet for the flight until he heard Hux. Ben was on his feet in an instant, their reunion was long overdue. 

Hux was sitting up in bed cursing up a storm when he saw Ben. “Where the hell am I?” Hux muttered out, glaring at Ben. “And care to explain to me how we went from working for the First Order to switching sides and killing our leader.”

If Ben was being honest, he only heard the first part of what Hux said, he was too busy staring at his lips. Without a word, Ben ran over pulling Hux in for a desperate kiss. It was sloppy, but what Ben craved and needed. 

Hux pulled away, slapping Ben across the face. “Kissing me won’t make me any less mad. What the hell did you do? Why did Palpatine take me?”

“Do we have to talk about this?”

“Yes! I was put to death only a few hours ago and somehow I’m alive and stuck with you.”

Ben sat down across from Hux and thought about where to start. He started at the beginning and told Hux about his constant struggle between the light and dark and how Palpatine picked up on it. The rest of the story played out with how Ben remembered, the past couple days had been crazy.

When the jedi finished his story, he watched the general’s face. The ginger was deep in thought as he absorbed everything he heard. “May I ask you something?” Ben questioned, trying not to overload his love. Hux nodded yes. “Do you hate me for changing to the light side? Do you still want to be with me?”

The stoic face melted off of Hux. “I could never hate you, Ben” he stuttered. “The whole time I was being tortured, I was happy it was me and not you. I should be dead for what I did. And now because of me, you had to leave your mother.”

“I love you Hux and I would never let you die. Please don’t put yourself down like that. This is the best possible scenario that could have happened to us.”

“Why?”

“Everyone in the galaxy thinks we are dead. We are free to go anywhere and do anything.”

“I don’t deserve this happy ending, not after all the death I caused.”

“Of course you do my love, the First Order caused the death destruction. You were just following orders” Ben reassured, pulling Hux for a gentle kiss. It was short and sweet and exactly what Hux needed. “So where does my favorite ginger want to go?”

“Somewhere far away from people. I just want to be alone with you.”

“I like the sound of that.”

Both boys went into the cockpit and Ben already knew what planet to go to, Spira. It was a vacation planet covered in beaches and oceans. He knew of a tiny island on the planet that was never inhabited. He would surprise Hux. 

Hux leaned against Ben, as the jedi steered the Millennium Falcon into the depths of space. “I have bad news” Ben laughed.

“What?”

“You need to dye your hair. Can’t risk you getting recognized.”

“Absolutely not!”

*************

They spent a couple months on Spira, allowing both men to finally open up. Ben could finally let the light guide him and feel less torn. Hux could finally show his emotions and escape from his high stress environment. They had to learn how to relax and talk about their feelings. 

The first few weeks were filled with many arguments and tears, but the lovers worked through it. They both had trauma to work through. Hux’s torture at the hands of Palpatine haunted his dreams at night and Ben was trying to best comfort him and work through his own issues. It was hard work, but both men wanted to help each other. 

They had grown a lot closer over the past couple months. And both knew they would never leave each other. They had been through so much together. 

On their last night on the planet, Hux finally dyed his hair jet black. Their new destination would be a lot more crowded and he knew having fiery red hair would stand out in a crowd. 

Hux was packing up his and Ben’s clothes, neatly folding them. He hated wrinkles and liked everything to be perfect. It was still weird wearing normal clothes. They were comforter than his First Order uniform. 

From outside their little hut, he heard Ben call his name. He finished the shirt he was folding and then followed the voice. It was dark out, but the sky was lit up by the planet’s three moons.

Ben was waiting on the beach, under the beams of the moon, the ocean water splashing his long legs. “What are you doing, Ben?” he asked, standing in front of his boyfriend. “I really don’t want to go skinny dipping again. I want to finish packing. We should have left hours ago.”

The jedi allowed Hux to ramble on until he had nothing left to say. “I wanted to ask you something.”

“You couldn’t have asked inside the hut?” Hux grumbled, but his face quickly changed from annoyance to shock when Ben got down on one knee.

“Ever since we first met at the First Order I knew you were something special. Sure we hated each other at first, but that was just because we were fighting our feelings. You made me a better person. Because you of I joined the light side and overthrew the First Order. These past couple months have been amazing and it makes me so excited for our future together.” Ben pulled out a ring from his pocket. “So Hux will you spend the rest of your life with me and marry me?”

Hux didn’t answer, he rolled his eyes and stormed back into the hut. Ben remained on his knee, unsure of what to do. This was not how he thought the proposal would go. As he stood, he saw Hux come storming back.

In Hux’s hand was a small black box. “I was going to ask you when we got on the ship,” he confessed, a blush spreading across his pale cheeks. 

“Does that mean you are saying yes?” Ben asked unable to hold back his excitement.

“Only if you say yes to marrying me.”

Both boys laughed and put their rings on each other’s fingers. Once the rings were on, Ben pushed Hux to the ground and attacked him with his lips. “I guess we could stay here another night” Hux breathed out, ripping off Ben’s shirt.

The next morning, the newly engaged couple woke up and hopped into the shower, washing away the events of the past night. They finished packing and climbed onto the ship. This time Hux was picking their new destination.

With Hux in the cockpit seat, he typed in the coordinates. He could feel Ben’s eyes on him, watching his every move. “Can I help you?” Hux teased, turning to face the jedi.

“No I just want to admire my fiancé.”

The word was still so new to Hux. “I love you, Ben.”

“And I love you too, more than life itself.”

Hux turned on the ship and it hovered off the ground. The ship jumped into light speed, leaving behind Spira. “Let’s start our new adventure together.”

**Author's Note:**

> Please give this a like and comment, if you enjoyed the story. I could add more chapters to this if you guys wanted!


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